‘SAN criteria is oppressive’

The federal government has been accused of paying lip service to the anti-corruption war especially, with the withdrawal of corruption charges against some individuals and organisations. One instance is the case of Mohammed Abacha?President Goodluck Jonathan has disappointed many of us. His fight against corruption has been lacklustre. His body language speaks volumes that he […]

The federal government has been accused of paying lip service to the anti-corruption war especially, with the withdrawal of corruption charges against some individuals and organisations. One instance is the case of Mohammed Abacha?
President Goodluck Jonathan has disappointed many of us. His fight against corruption has been lacklustre. His body language speaks volumes that he is presiding over a corrupt government. You cannot imagine why just for political reasons he has to withdraw corruption case against Mohammed Abacha even when the Supreme Court said the Abacha family has a case to answer. You withdraw a N440 billion case against him all because you want him to contest as governor of Kano State, to succeed Kwankwaso whom you see as spiteful having nominated Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano. It is quite unfortunate and I pray that in the next election the electorate should decide rightly.
Would you subscribe to suggestions for the separation of the office of the Attorney General of the Federation from that of the Minister of Justice to prevent this kind of instances?
Yes. I subscribe that the office of the Attorney General be separated from that of the Minister of Justice because the minister being a member of the cabinet is a politician. And you cannot mix the two, its either you are fighting for the people or against the people. Now the AGF sees himself as an appointee of the federal government and he will always do the bidding of the government. The constitution gives the attorney general the power of nolle prosequi – meaning that he can withdraw any criminal trial. This he has exercised in the Abacha case, the Halliburton and the Siemens cases etc. So I highly subscribe to the separation.
In the deliberations of the National Conference there is a recommendation that the tenure of the legislatures be on part-time basis to cut costs. What is your take on that?
I don’t subscribe to part-time legislature. There are other ways to cut the cost of government, such as making it a unicameral legislature. That would reduce the cost of government and also lead to quicker passage of bills before the National Assembly. Every minister has aides who in turn have aides. The President has over 91 aides. What is he doing with all of that? The hallmark of democracy all over the world is the parliament because that is where the people are represented. If you look at it, we are in a poverty-stricken society.
What happens if a constituency wants to elect somebody who does not have money to live in an expensive city like Abuja, and he/she will be elected on part-time basis? How can such a legislator who has the interested of his/her constituent cope in Abuja? So I don’t subscribe to part-time parliament. I rather we make it unicameral legislature and the aides of the members of the executive can be pruned down.
The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) just listed some names for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). Are you satisfied with the list and the criteria used in arriving at it?
The list is for this year. I have just one candidate to pick out and that is Festus Keyamo. If anybody is qualified to be given the rank of SAN he is the one. He has laboured so much for the legal profession. He has helped enrich and develop our laws by the various pro bono cases and public interest litigations he has taken to court. The latest one is the suit mandating service chiefs to be subjected to the confirmation of the National Assembly; they must bow under the civil authority. So if anybody merits the award, it is Keyamo.
Having said that, I must say I am not quite satisfied with the criteria for the award of that honour. To me the criteria is oppressive, it is a common fact that they are procured. How can you explain that one of the criteria is quota? Another criterion is that you must have known somebody that will sponsor you from the Supreme Court. I would have expected that there should be a qualifying examination like that of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
What we have here is that you must have a good library and some of the lawyers go to the ridiculous extent of borrowing books. They talk about having cases at the Supreme Court, you find out that even lawyers that have never been to court in their life, now go to people with cases at the Supreme Court to add their names.
Another thing is that for some years now SAN is being conferred on academicians who have never been to the court. The acronym of the award is Senior Advocate of Nigeria, not Senior Academicians of Nigeria! So the criteria have been bastardised.
Every year we have 700 to 800 applicants. And they only give 12 to 15 persons, it is only this year that we are having as many as 22. What criteria or criterion did they use to arrive at those few numbers and screen others out? That means some people that are qualified are unduly pruned out. So I want to subscribe to what Afe Babalola (SAN) suggested, with all sense of respect, that as many as are qualified for the award should be given it; in other words, the process should be liberalised.
I also want to suggest that there should be qualifying exam. Secondly, they should make it a criterion that an SAN must have a minimum of 50 juniors in his chambers that he is paying a salary of N50,000. This is because every year the Law School churns out thousands of graduates who are now roaming the streets without jobs.
Another thing is that any SAN who has dishonoured himself should be stripped of the silk, they should suspend the rank of SAN.  A good example is the SAN who was involved in the Justice Naron, Plateau High Court case by scribbling notes to the judge in the case. When the NJC disciplined the judge, they asked the NBA to discipline the lawyer but up till now that SAN has not been disciplined; he is still practicing. If you go to the NBA Disciplinary Committee, the people mostly violating our rules are the SANs. He is still practicing. That is why an octogenarian is in court asking for the rank of SAN to be scrapped and many lawyers have aligned themselves with him. Ghana has since scrapped the rank; USA doesn’t have it because if you are a lawyer go to court and prove your mettle.
But the British still has the Inner Bar (Queens Counsel)?
The British we are copying from don’t give the rank to every Dick, Tom and Harry. One former electoral commissioner in Kano who has never practiced before was given the SAN. It has become a very laughable award. If they must retain it, let them reappraise the criteria.
The Chairman of the Unity Bar of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), U.M. Yamah, recently called for the welfare of the juniors by the seniors and the payment of branch dues to become part of the criteria for SAN. What is your position here?
The NBA as presently constituted is a toothless bulldog. It can only bark but cannot bite. If the NBA wants to be taken seriously, they should first sanitise their house. NBA has lost its relevance.